My friend Kristie, whom I’ve known since about 1987, just sent an iPhone photo of Bitter Seeds lurking in the wilds of Roseville, Minnesota. This hometown photo means a lot to me, because I used to spend a lot of time at this particular Barnes & Noble back when I was a graduate student living in the Twin Cities.
Back then, I was one of a couple dozen punks who came to play chess in the cafe on Wednesday nights. I gave up on the chess nights after about a year in order to better concentrate on my studies. In the end, and in hindsight, I see that it wouldn’t have made much of a difference in my graduation date. All it really achieved was to deprive myself of an activity I greatly enjoyed.
Same with writing, as a matter of fact. I didn’t let myself start writing until I finished graduate school. But that’s a long story and I’ll tell it some other time, because here’s Kristie’s photo:
I do believe I see David Louis Edelman’s Geosynchron in that photo, as well as Robert Sawyer’s WWW: Watch. Certainly can’t complain about the company my book is keeping. Glad it’s not lonely.
A grateful tip of the cranial electrodes to Kristie Strum. Thanks, Kristie!